Today, Olympus Imaging Singapore announced their new PEN E-P1 Micro Four Thirds digital camera with interchangeable lens system at the Singapore Art Museum.

Tommy Nagashima, general manager, International sales and marketing for Olympus Corporation did the introduction for the the Pen E-P1 – an interchangeable lens digital camera that’s compliant with the new Micro Four Thirds System standard.

“Last year at Photokina held in September, we announced our intention to introduce a new model using the new standard called ‘mFTS’ (micro Four Thirds System). The benefit of this new standard is without sacrificing picture image quality we can make the size of camera body much smaller.”

“According to our survey conducted in the US and Japan, 20% of compact camera buyers once considered to buy a DSLR but finally decided not to. So why they did not buy DSLR? Reason being they feel that DSLR is heavy, big, difficult and too complicated. We (at Olympus) believe if we can introduce a new camera which will meet needs from those potential customers, we can further expand DSLR market,” said Tommy Nagashima.

VR Zone has the opportunity to hands-on the Olympus PEN E-P1 at the event. It is about the size of most compact cameras, but feels heavier. The controls are neatly placed at the rear, beside the 3-inch LCD display. The mode dial is at the top left, while the power and shutter button is at the top right.

The Olympus PEN E-P1 comes with attachable lens and flash unit. The basic configuration include 14-42mm lens, however, the manufacturer mentioned that more lens and flash units will be available in the near future.

On the right, we found a USB port and HDMI connector for you to show your pictures and videos to friends and family on LCD or Plasma TVs. Image quality looks impressive with good colours and sharpness.

Pricing and Availability

Available in two colours: black and white, the Olympus E-P1 will be retailing at all major retailers and dealers in July 09.

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